Christmas wrapping

All my children and grand children came for lunch and gift exchange on the Sunday after Christmas. We had a wonderful time with great food and fellowship. Isaac stayed overnight on Sunday and Monday so he was able to assemble and start working with his new rod wrapper and accessories. He has caught on very quickly! He will be going with me to the International Custom Rod Building Expo February 25-27 in High Point, NC, and will learn a great deal there. I'm happy he is showing an interest in something I've enjoyed for many years! Happy New Year everyone!

Isaac's First Deer

My Grandson shot his first deer yesterday (12-19-2010) - from 185-yards! From a small child he's always been my main fishing buddy and enjoyed everything "outdoors." My son took him hunting yesterday out by Shelbyville. Congrats Bud - you da man!

The weather hasn't been cooperative for fishing but I have managed to tackle tinker and add some new reels to my stash! I got 2-each Citica and 2-each Symetre at my local hardware store. He added fishing supplies about a year ago and only buys what us locals like - makes it real handy. He also gave me a deal to match the lowest internet price I could find. In the near future, I'll also be changing all my mono to Silver Thread Copolymer and also my flourocarbon to Silver Thread. I used Silver Thread for years then drank the "try others" Kool aid and have now come to my senses - back to Silver Thread for me! I have 4-more older Quantum bait casters to replace with new reels but hoping to find some good deals after Christmas. Hopefully I'll have a nice commission check as November and December have seen increased sales...finally!

I do hope you and yours have a wonderful and blessed Christmas Season and a faithful, prosperous New Year!

Thanks Giving Weekend

Our family gathered on Saturday, Nov 27th, for our Thanks Giving dinner. We met at my second daughter's house near Cookeville, TN. After lunch we took the kids to a nearby pond to fish - all but 2 of them caught fish and those 2 actually had bites but failed to connect. Issac caught 4-nice catfish out of 6-hits. Ryan caught the only bass. We all FROZE. A good day with ALL of the kids and Grand kids there!

Old Hickory with Son and Grand Son 10/2/10

About 3-weeks ago I enjoyed a day on Old Hickory with my Son and Grandson. A very nice day with high skies, warm temps and little wind. We caught fish with Spro frogs, Carolina Rigs, Jigs and flukes. The fish in the picture was almost 5#'s and of course, the largest of the day. My son caught it crawling & popping the frog in 2-ft of water over emerging weeds. Really enjoyed the day!

Center Hill Lake - Oct 9, 2010

The weather/conditions have finally made a turn on Center Hill. Went out Saturday afternoon about 2:30 PM and under high bright skies, 85-degree temperatures, water temps of 76 with a slight breeze was able to catch a nice 4.5# Largemouth, a 3# Smallmouth (should have weighed more but had a flat belly) and 2# Spot. They all came within a 100-yards of each other on a non-descript point in 8-12 ft. I was using 17# test Trilene Sensation with a piece of 17# Trilene Flourocarbon leader, a Stan Sloan Football jig (Dale Hollow Shad color) and Zoom green/gold/chartreause trailer.

I also caught a few other spots.

Old Fenwick fiberglass rods

I had fun rebuilding two old fiberglass Fenwick Rods. Finished them yesterday. They're great for small crankbaits and Charlie Brewer Slider system fishing. One is 6'6" and the other is 5'6" - Tennessee Handle style (you tape the reels to the rod). I think I got these at a flee market about 15-years ago. I stipped,re-finished and installed new line Fuji Hardloy (the best guide at the time these rods were original) guides.